Leviticus 25 - The forgotten chapter....

To the Econ guys, have you ever seen a reformed analysis or commentary on the Levitical Financial and Property system.....

Was this ever followed?

Could it actually work?

Would it solve the poverty or refuge problems the world faces?

Verses 44-47 seem to be the problem.

Obviously, this is a cultural context item that few if any would advocate to day.

Has there ever been a fair system that allows those in tough times to work for their subsistence? How does the 2nd great commandment mitigate abuse in this area?

From verse 39 Gill writes...

thou shall not compel him to serve as a bondservant; such as were Heathens, and bought of them, or taken in war and made slaves of; but an Israelite sold was not to serve as they, either with respect to matter or manner, or time of service; 

such as were bondmen were put to the hardest service, the greatest drudgery, as well as what was mean and reproachful, and were used in the most rigorous and despotic manner, and were obliged to serve for ever, and were never released; but a brother, an Israelite, sold to another through extreme poverty, was not to be put to any low, mean, base, and disgraceful service, by which it would be known that he was a servant, as Jarchi notes; such as to carry his master's vessels or instruments after him to the bath, or to unloose his shoes; 

but, as the same writer observes, he was to be employed in the business of the farm, or in some handicraft work, and was to be kindly and gently used, rather as a brother than a servant, and to be freed in the year of jubilee.

Btw the Leviticus text is below at the bottom.

It's interesting to note.

Joh 1:27  He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

Luk 7:28  For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Joh 13:3  Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

Joh 13:4  He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

Joh 13:5  After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Joh 13:6  Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

Joh 13:7  Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

In the early church letters we hear this teaching echoed.

Act 10:34  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

Act 10:35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Rom 2:11  For there is no respect of persons with God.

1Co 12:13  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

Gal 3:28  There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Eph 6:8  Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Col 3:11  Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

The context of this last verse is in Peter's sharp teaching on false teachers.

False Prophets and Teachers

2Pe 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2Pe 2:2  And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

2Pe 2:3  And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

2Pe 2:4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

2Pe 2:5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2Pe 2:6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

2Pe 2:7  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:

2Pe 2:8  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed hisrighteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

2Pe 2:10  But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

2Pe 2:11  Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

2Pe 2:12  But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;

2Pe 2:13  And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

2Pe 2:14  Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

2Pe 2:15  Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

2Pe 2:16  But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

2Pe 2:17  📝  These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.

2Pe 2:18  For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

2Pe 2:19  While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

2Pe 2:20  📝  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

2Pe 2:21  For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

2Pe 2:22  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

The idea of sinning again is spoken of by Jesus.

Joh 5:10  The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

Joh 5:11  He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk.

Joh 5:12  Then asked they him, What man is that which said unto thee, Take up thy bed, and walk?

Joh 5:13  And he that was healed wist not who it was: for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

Joh 5:14  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Joh 5:15  The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.

Joh 5:16  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.

Joh 5:17  But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

In Paul's teaching in Roman's we have our full description.

Slaves to Righteousness

Rom 6:15  What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

Rom 6:16  Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Rom 6:17  But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

Rom 6:18  Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Rom 6:19  I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.

Rom 6:20  For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.

Rom 6:21  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.

Rom 6:22  But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

How do yet do this?

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.

The Sabbath Year

Lev 25:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,

Lev 25:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.

Lev 25:3  Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;

Lev 25:4  But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

Lev 25:5  That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.

Lev 25:6  And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,

Lev 25:7  And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.

The Year of Jubilee

Lev 25:8  And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.

Lev 25:9  Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.

Lev 25:10  And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Lev 25:11  A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.

Lev 25:12  For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.

Lev 25:13  In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.

Lev 25:14  And if thou sell ought unto thy neighbour, or buyest ought of thy neighbour's hand, ye shall not oppress one another:

Lev 25:15  According to the number of years after the jubile thou shalt buy of thy neighbour, and according unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto thee:

Lev 25:16  According to the multitude of years thou shalt increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of years thou shalt diminish the price of it: for according to the number of the years of the fruits doth he sell unto thee.

Lev 25:17  Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God: for I am the LORD your God.

Lev 25:18  Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.

Lev 25:19  And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.

Lev 25:20  And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:

Lev 25:21  Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.

Lev 25:22  And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.

Redemption of Property

Lev 25:23  The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

Lev 25:24  And in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.

Lev 25:25  If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.

Lev 25:26  And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it;

Lev 25:27  Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession.

Lev 25:28  But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.

Lev 25:29  And if a man sell a dwelling house in a walled city, then he may redeem it within a whole year after it is sold; within a full year may he redeem it.

Lev 25:30  And if it be not redeemed within the space of a full year, then the house that is in the walled city shall be established for ever to him that bought it throughout his generations: it shall not go out in the jubile.

Lev 25:31  But the houses of the villages which have no wall round about them shall be counted as the fields of the country: they may be redeemed, and they shall go out in the jubile.

Lev 25:32  Notwithstanding the cities of the Levites, and the houses of the cities of their possession, may the Levites redeem at any time.

Lev 25:33  And if a man purchase of the Levites, then the house that was sold, and the city of his possession, shall go out in the year of jubile: for the houses of the cities of the Levites aretheir possession among the children of Israel.

Lev 25:34  But the field of the suburbs of their cities may not be sold; for it is their perpetual possession.

Kindness for Poor Brothers

Lev 25:35  And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.

Lev 25:36  Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

Lev 25:37  Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.

Lev 25:38  I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

Lev 25:39  And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant:

Lev 25:40  But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile:

Lev 25:41  And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.

Lev 25:42  For they are my servants, which I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: they shall not be sold as bondmen.

Lev 25:43  Thou shalt not rule over him with rigour; but shalt fear thy God.

Lev 25:44  Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.

Lev 25:45  Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.

Lev 25:46  And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

Redeeming a Poor Man

Lev 25:47  And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger's family:

Lev 25:48  After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:

Lev 25:49  Either his uncle, or his uncle's son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself.

Lev 25:50  And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.

Lev 25:51  If there be yet many years behind, according unto them he shall give again the price of his redemption out of the money that he was bought for.

Lev 25:52  And if there remain but few years unto the year of jubile, then he shall count with him, and according unto his years shall he give him again the price of his redemption.

Lev 25:53  And as a yearly hired servant shall he be with him: and the other shall not rule with rigour over him in thy sight.

Lev 25:54  And if he be not redeemed in these years, then he shall go out in the year of jubile, both he, and his children with him.

Lev 25:55  For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

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